And hey, if you live really frugally (like under the underpass or something), you could probably use your room and board money to pay off your car loan your first year!

I decided to sell my car, so I could pay off my credit cards before I went to law school. But, I won't be working, and no matter where I end up it will be a major city with public transportation options.

I'm actually hoping my boyfriend will join me in the middle of the first year (or into the second), because that would cut rent in half for me which would be perfect. Other than that, I *might* be able to petition my parents to pay half of my loans or something if I ask really nicely on the condition that it's a loan, and I'll pay them back as soon as physically possible.

This is a little off-topic, but it just came up, too: If you're moving cross-country for law school and don't have a nice little $4000 to pay ($1500 for the UHaul, approx. $1400 for the rent deposit and first month's rent, new computer, some tiny items like a used desk for aforementioned computer, etc.), how is everyone thinking about handling that? I'd really like not to take out a private loan to pay for that, but that's what it might come down to. I'm going to get rid of as much of my crap as possible before I leave, but I'll still probably have a lot of things to take with me. And I assume I'd need the computer before I actually get my loans so I could make sure I know how to use it before the first day of classes.

Seconded about the computer loan- that's not something to worry about. Most people seem like they use their credit cards and pay them off once their loans come in. It's sort of annoying but kind of hard to avoid. As for rental trucks, if you have AAA you may want to check out Penske. The discount was significant when I used it last year.

Thanks. I'm using State Farm for insurance (AAA is insurance, right? Or is it a moving company? I'm having a "d'oh!" moment).

Maybe I should talk to my credit cards about upping my limits. Right now I just have $1200 on one and $1500 on another. I don't suppose you can pay your first month's rent with a credit card, though, right? Maybe I'll put everything I can on a credit card (the move, any cheap furniture I might need, the computer, etc) and then use my savings for the rent. I hate to charge up my credit cards, but maybe that'll mean I can pay them off over the course of 3 months during law school and just not eat for a while.

AAA is the American Automobile Association. It's basically a club you join that gives you roadside assistance, maps/travel books, discounts on hotels, rental cars/trucks, and other sorts of discounts. It costs <$75 to join and I think I saved about $150-200 on my moving truck (much shorter than yours) and a bit on the hotels/motels I stayed in on my trip up. If you have a lot of stuff already and are already having to rent a truck, might as well try to salvage as much as you can that will fit in the truck instead of buying new.

See if you can exhaust the parental option before going for the credit cards. First semester is much tighter with loans than second semester so you should be able to pay your parents off when you get your second semester check with no problem. With moving in, health insurance (we had to buy it in one lump sum at the beginning of the year), and being forced to buy books in the bookstore first semester, I was in a much worse situation than I am this semester.

AAA is the American Automobile Association. It's basically a club you join that gives you roadside assistance, maps/travel books, discounts on hotels, rental cars/trucks, and other sorts of discounts. It costs <$75 to join and I think I saved about $150-200 on my moving truck (much shorter than yours) and a bit on the hotels/motels I stayed in on my trip up. If you have a lot of stuff already and are already having to rent a truck, might as well try to salvage as much as you can that will fit in the truck instead of buying new.

See if you can exhaust the parental option before going for the credit cards. First semester is much tighter with loans than second semester so you should be able to pay your parents off when you get your second semester check with no problem. With moving in, health insurance (we had to buy it in one lump sum at the beginning of the year), and being forced to buy books in the bookstore first semester, I was in a much worse situation than I am this semester.

Wow, thanks for that info on the AAA bit. My trip's going to be about 2000 miles and 2-3 nights in a hotel, so that could be helpful!

Yeah, I'm not sure how much my parents will be willing to help, in all honesty. Seems like the boyfriend will be helping me move out there, so I might be able to guilt-trip them into a bit of money, but we'll see. I have a meager savings that I put in place with the hopes of buying new figure skates this year (my old ones are starting to break down pretty badly, and new boots along will cost around $650. Add in orthotics and blades, and we're up to $1600). I guess I might just have to wait on those until I start teaching skating part-time and actually need them. It seems like the boyfriend really does plan to attempt to transfer out there with me, so if his transfer gets approved quickly (fingers crossed), I might be paying very little for rent at least for part of the first year. That'll definitely help, as well.

Have you ever tried to spend so little on your loans that they help pay a bit of your summer expenses, as well? I know someone who'd take out an additional 8K each summer through Sallie Mae to pay rent, but I'd like not to do that if possible. Personally, I'm going to try to apply for public interest job grants through the school. We'll see how that goes.

It seems that some people have a misunderstanding about how loans operate. Here was my experience with school-disbursed grants and loans: they award up to the "cost of attendance". Then they deposit it in an account for you at the school, from which they subtract tuition and fees due. Then they disburse a check to you.

With this check you can do whatever you want... you can pay your rent or you can pay a mortgage. Or you can go to Vegas and blow it all on strippers. Cost of attendance doesn't tell you WHAT you can spend the money on, only a maximum amount that you can get. I have a friend whose parents are paying for the whole thing... he just took the loans out anyway to invest them.